09 October 2014

wardrobe planning

some of you might know that i'm a perpetual planner. i plan out every trip, creating spreadsheets of places to eat and things to see and do. i plan events all in advance and must put them in both my phone and physical diary. so it will be no surprise that i have started organising and planning my wardrobe.

i use pinterest to privately pin every item in my wardrobe, separating the clothes out into spring/summer and autumn/winter. that way i can get a clear picture of what in my wardrobe is relevant to me now and it also helps me re-organise my actual wardrobe to store away clothes that i won't require for the upcoming season. i find it extremely helpful to visualise my entire wardrobe. that way i can avoid double ups and i can see where there are holes/missing pieces.﻿

i have been challenged of late to buy less and curate a wardrobe that is more fitting to my lifestyle, my style, my budget and my wardrobe size (living in a tiny london flat will do that to you!). maybe it's because i'm getting older and, i would like to hope, wiser, but i am finding myself less wanting to be fashionable and more wanting to be practical and true to myself.

i have been reading blogs un-fancy and into mind, which have really challenged me to change my wardrobe ways. whilst i'm not sure i could whittle my wardrobe down to 30-40 pieces, i have taken away some valuable lessons which i will attempt to summarise below:

1. back to basics

the number 1 thing i reach for in my wardobe every time are basics. the white shirt, the black skinny jean, the perfect tee, the black blazer. while basics might seem boring, they provide a great foundation on which to build any outfit. having a good store of basics means that you really don't have to overthink. i have been stocking up on really good basics such as cotton tees from zara in every colour (black, grey, white), merino and cashmere sweaters from the men's uniqlo section and work shirts from cos. i know that every one of these pieces will be put to good use all year round.

2. quality is everything

i think i have mentioned this before, but i make sure to check the tag of every garment before i buy to know the material and the amount of work that will go into maintenance. basic stuff like cotton tees/shirts, wool sweaters, silk dresses. polyester is always a big no for me and it makes me so mad that high end designer brands are still producing polyester products (rant!).

3. stop hoarding

there are definitely items in my wardrobe that i've kept because they were expensive and i can't justify wasting the money or because i'm keeping it for when i lose some weight. trust me, it's just never going to happen. a wardrobe cleanse is what everyone needs at least 3 times a year. it's so liberating and therapeutic! if you can sell some stuff, good on you, but seriously if you haven't used an item for over a year give it away.

4. lists

it comes with the planner's territory, but i find that making wishlists of the items i want to buy for the next season really helpful to keep me on track with my buying. that way i won't get sidetracked by sales or seasonal fashion pieces that i really don't need. i have holiday shopping lists as well. on my recent trip to paris i wrote down a small list of things that i specifically wanted and ended up not buying anything except a small clutch bag because i couldn't find anything on the list. for my upcoming trip to stockholm the only item on my list is a scarf! let's see how i go with that one.

5. avoid fast fashion

i would maybe allow 2-3 pieces of fast fashion for the season, but generally they tend to be poor quality and won't be used for more than a few months. zara and topshop are the main perpetrators and sometimes you can obtain quite good pieces, but i tend to avoid filling my wardobe with every "it" piece in a season as i know that it will not end up being a long term relationship.what's your wardrobe ethic? how do you plan your wardrobe, if at all?